AAP, BJP’s latest slugfest over Yamuna pollution in Delhi

Parvesh Verma and Arvind Kejriwal are in a direct contest for the New Delhi assembly seat where the latter is the sitting MLA

The tussle between the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) over the pollution in the river Yamuna took a fresh turn on Saturday when BJP leader Parvesh Verma immersed a cutout of AAP chief Arvind Kejriwal in the river, which the AAP called a desperate attempt to draw attention.

Parvesh Verma immerses a cutout of AAP chief Arvind Kejriwal in the Yamuna on Saturday. (HT Photo)

Verma and Kejriwal are in a direct contest for the New Delhi assembly seat where Kejriwal is the sitting MLA. Kejriwal had earlier promised to clean the Yamuna and take a dip in the river. On Saturday, Verma took a boat into the Yamuna near ITO and criticised Kejriwal for not being able to clean the Yamuna.

“Cities are built around rivers but the Yamuna here is so polluted that the people of Delhi can’t even go near it. If the water of the Yamuna can be cleaned Delhi can use it for drinking water supply, but the AAP-led government did nothing in the last 11 years. Kejriwal had said that if I don’t clean the Yamuna, don’t vote for me. So, how is he seeking votes now? Nobody knows what happened with ₹8,000 crore of funds that the Delhi government spent on cleaning the Yamuna,” Verma said.

In response, the AAP said that the BJP has ended Parvesh Verma’s political career by putting him up against Kejriwal.

“Verma is a clown. He has stooped to such antics in a desperate attempt to gain media spotlight. He has an endless amount of money earned through corruption. He thinks he can buy votes by distributing money. But even after all his antics, no one is giving him any attention on the ground or in media,” the AAP said in a statement.

Home minister Amit Shah, too, criticised the AAP for not being able to clean the Yamuna in the last 10 years.

“They said that they will make Delhi pollution-free and will make Yamuna so clean that Kejriwal will take a dip in the river. It is still so polluted that when our BJP leaders today dipped his effigy in the river, even that fell sick,” said Shah during a roadshow in Rajouri Garden assembly constituency.

Earlier this week, Kejriwal had apologised to the people of Delhi for not being able to fulfil three promises: cleaning the Yamuna, providing clean drinking water and making Delhi’s roads as good as those in Europe. He added that if the AAP returns to power, the river will be cleaned within three years.